Gilberte de Courgenay

Gilberte Montavon de Courgenay (20 March 1896 – 2 May 1957) was a Swiss waitress who became a national symbol of spiritual national defense during World War I and World War II. She entertained Swiss Army troops at the Hôtel de Gare in Courgenay, which was owned by her family, and became popular with the soldiers. In 1917, the composer and folklorist Hanns In der Gand gave a concert at the hotel and performed his new song La petite Gilberte, written about Montavon. The song was adopted by the army to boost morale throughout the war. Montavon inspired Rudolph Bolo Mäglin's 1939 novel Gilberte de Courgenay and his play of the same name. Two films, August Kern's Marguerite et les soldates in 1940 and Franz Schnyder's Gilberte de Courgenay in 1941, were based on her life.

Early life Montavon was born on 20 March 1896 in Courgenay to Gustave Montavon, a watchmaker and hotelier, and Lucine Laville. She was born on the first floor of her family home on Fontaine-Allée. She had two older sisters, Fernande and Camille, and two younger brothers, Gustave and Paul. In 1914, Montavon returned from school, due to the war, and began working as a waitress at her parents' hotel, the Hôtel de Gare. In 1940, August Kern produced the film Marguerite et les soldates, loosely based on Montavon. In 1941, the filmmaker Franz Schnyder made a film, Gilberte de Courgenay, based on Mäglin's novel. She was portrayed by Anne-Marie Blanc in the film.

Personal life

In 1923, Montavon married Louis Schneider, a businessman from St. Gallen, in a Catholic ceremony at Mariastein Abbey in Metzerlen-Mariastein. The couple moved to Zürich, where they lived at Bergstrasse 122. Gilberte gave birth to a daughter, Jeanne. The family moved to another house, located at Bionstrasse 10, where they settled permanently.

Death and legacy Montavon died in Zürich on 2 May 1957 and was buried at the Friedhof Nordheim.

A street and a bus station in Courgenay are named after her. In 1995, the filmmaker Jacqueline Veuve dedicated an episode of her television series, Ma rue histoire, to Montavon.